Looking to buy my first rc

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In the vid I saw of the Summit it was actually quite a capable crawler as well as a decent basher. That was what got me thinking about grabbing one some day.
 
A 500 pound (as in money) rc hmm. why don't OP post what he might be interested in and those of Us that have 1 can give him the thumbs up or whatever gesture 1 picks
 
https://m.traxxas.com/products/models/electric/summit-1-16

This was my orignal plan to get this before i joined rctalk. And i was going to buy a few extra batteries to i can stay out longer. I have a £500 budget to start but once i get a rc as time goes on obviously I'm going want to upgrade things. Do i go for this one the 1/16 or 1 /10? Or if anyone knows a different make or model which is better and within my price range that would be great 👍
 
If you go for a summit Id definitely go 1/10. Most, if not all, the unique features that the 1/10 has are not found on the 1/16. If you want something that will be a better crawler then Id look at the Axial SCX10 III or the Traxxas TRX4.
 
I've opted for the for 1/10 . If i buy it brand new does it come with a battery and charger or do i have to buy them separate?
 
How much am i looking at for decent battery and charger roughly
 
How much am i looking at for decent battery and charger roughly
A good charger will run you around $100. But you can buy cheaper ones. I use a Hota D6 Pro and love it.

I am not sure, but doesn't that rig take 2 batteries? You can look at SMC, CNHL, Gens-Ace, etc for decent batteries. Or if you want to go with a value brand you can get Zee brand batteries off Amazon.

I am not sure what size the battery compartments are on the Summit, so hopefully someone else can chime in here.
 
Requires 2x 8.4V NiMH battery packs or 2 x 2S LiPo packs (with Traxxas high-current connector) with appropriate charger.
 
Requires 2x 8.4V NiMH battery packs or 2 x 2S LiPo packs (with Traxxas high-current connector) with appropriate charger.
I would recommend a Hitec X2 AC Plus. Its a good starter charger than can grow with you and has some features that you mostly only find on high end chargers. As for batteries Id use LiPos instead of NiMH packs and Id recommend SMC LiPos. If those are a little out your price range then just look at any of the generic LiPos off of Amazon. Hoovo, Zeee, or pretty much any brand off of Amazon.
 
I would recommend a Hitec X2 AC Plus. Its a good starter charger than can grow with you and has some features that you mostly only find on high end chargers. As for batteries Id use LiPos instead of NiMH packs and Id recommend SMC LiPos. If those are a little out your price range then just look at any of the generic LiPos off of Amazon. Hoovo, Zeee, or pretty much any brand off of Amazon.
What is the wattage per channel on that charger? Is it really 100w? It's only 18v AC input, which seems kinda low for a battery charger at that price.
 
What is the wattage per channel on that charger? Is it really 100w? It's only 18v AC input, which seems kinda low for a battery charger at that price.
Its 100W on AC or 200W on DC. Thats why I was saying its good for beginners starting out cuz they can run it on AC at first and then later when they find themselves wanting more power they can double it by using a DC power supply. Plus you get the stand alone ESR meter thats built in which I've only ever seen in high end chargers that cost $250 or more.
 
Hota specs
  • Model NO.: D6 Pro
  • Input Voltage: AC100~240V / DC 6.5~30V
  • Charge Current: 0.1~15A * 2
  • Charge Power:
    • DC 325W * 2(650W)
    • AC 200W(Support power distribution)
  • Discharge Power:
    • Internal discharge: 15W * 2(balance port 10W)
    • External discharge: 325W * 2
  • Battery Type:
    • LiHv/LiPo/LiFe/Lilon/Lixx : 1~6S
    • NiZn/Nicd/NiMH : 1~16S
    • Smart Battery : 1~6S
    • Lead Acid(Pb) : 2~24V
    • Enelop : 1~16S
  • Balance Current: 1600mA * 2
  • Discharge Current: 0.1~3A * 2
  • External Discharge Current: 1~15A * 2
  • USB Output: 5V / 2.1A
  • Dimensions: 108×105 ×76mm
  • Net Weight: 555g
All that for $10 less, plus a wireless device charger 😉
 
Hota specs
  • Model NO.: D6 Pro
  • Input Voltage: AC100~240V / DC 6.5~30V
  • Charge Current: 0.1~15A * 2
  • Charge Power:
    • DC 325W * 2(650W)
    • AC 200W(Support power distribution)
  • Discharge Power:
    • Internal discharge: 15W * 2(balance port 10W)
    • External discharge: 325W * 2
  • Battery Type:
    • LiHv/LiPo/LiFe/Lilon/Lixx : 1~6S
    • NiZn/Nicd/NiMH : 1~16S
    • Smart Battery : 1~6S
    • Lead Acid(Pb) : 2~24V
    • Enelop : 1~16S
  • Balance Current: 1600mA * 2
  • Discharge Current: 0.1~3A * 2
  • External Discharge Current: 1~15A * 2
  • USB Output: 5V / 2.1A
  • Dimensions: 108×105 ×76mm
  • Net Weight: 555g
All that for $10 less, plus a wireless device charger 😉
I understand that bro but it has no stand alone ESR meter in it. To buy a stand alone IR meter costs about $150 or you have to buy a $250+ charger. Most people (especially beginners) arent going to use more than 1C anyway and almost no one uses more than 2C unless you get into charging multiple packs in parallel. The ability to accurately monitor IR of your lipos is a huge concern, to me at least, so I'm always going to recommend that charger for that reason alone. I know beginners also arent going to care about IR either but as they progress into the hobby they should at some point hopefully learn to monitor the IR of the batts. So not only is there room to grow into the charger in terms of making it more powerful by adding a DC power source but also room to grow in to monitoring IRs. Even if they decide at some point to buy another charger thats higher than 200W they still have the ability to use the Hitec as a stand alone ESR meter which in and of itself is worth the $130 you pay for the charger. i also understand that the HOTA charger and others can do IRs while charging the packs but these readings arent as accurate as when IRs are taken by a stand alone device after a pack has been resting at storage voltage, at room tempature for an hour or more either. Plus Hitec to me is a more reputable brand than HOTA. I'm not saying they arent good, I know theres a lot of people out there that love the HOTA chargers. Thats where I'm coming from anyway. I understand we all have different preferences. :)
 
It has an IR meter. It shows when charging. But I see what you mean. It would be nice to see at idle. But I have a multimeter too 😉
 
It has an IR meter. It shows when charging. But I see what you mean. It would be nice to see at idle. But I have a multimeter too 😉
Are you aware that you can't measure a cells IR by simply taking a volt meter, turning it to ohms, and sticking the probes on the appropriate cell leads? you have to measure open circuit voltage, then closed circuit voltage (meaning voltage with some sort of load applied to the battery), and then use Ohms law and Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law formula to calculate the Internal Resistance. So unless you want to do all that you need a stand alone ESR meter of some kind if you want a simple way to obtain highly accurate results.
 
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Are you aware that you can't measure a cells IR by simply taking a volt meter, turning it to ohms, and sticking the probes on the appropriate cell leads? you have to measure open circuit voltage, then closed circuit voltage (meaning voltage with some sort of load applied to the battery), and then use Ohms law and Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law formula to calculate the Internal Resistance. So unless you want to do all that you need a stand alone ESR meter of some kind if you want simple to obtain highly accurate results.
I didn't know that lol. A guy mentioned it in a vid. I just flip my screen to IR when I start a charge and read them there, then after the battery has charged I leave it sit for a bit and read it again.
 
I didn't know that lol. A guy mentioned it in a vid. I just flip my screen to IR when I start a charge and read them there, then after the battery has charged I leave it sit for a bit and read it again.
Yeah, I mean you can just stick an ohm meter on it and it will give you a reading but its not even close to being accurate. The ohm readings you get while charging will be closer to accurate but they will be 1-3mOhms off which is close enough for government work but not close enough for me. There again though thats just personal preference on that issue. Honestly as long as you can read em even while charging thats a lot better than having nothing. :)
 
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